PacManDreaming:Meh, as long as it's supervised, I don't see any problem.

It's not like they're locking them in a cage and making them fight to the death for money. 'Cause, I'd totally drain my back account betting on that.

You're skipping over the head injury part. Yeah, it looks like it's a great idea until you look at the stats tying concusive brain injury to things like Parkinsons (Muhammed Ali) or changes in personality and aggression. In Canada, we've just started to realize that maybe allowing kids to knock the sh*t out of each other on the ice during hockey isn't a good idea. I'm not saying we have to wrap the kids in bubble wrap but only an idiot thinks it's ok for kids to suffer permanent brain injury.

My brother and I (32 and 34) have both independently taken up kickboxing in the last couple years (him sanshou, me muay Thai). Just this last Tuesday night we were having a great sparring session and between rounds I remarked at how much better our childhoods would have been if we had done this earlier. He said that his boys (2 and 6) are gonna learn. I told him my daughter (1) will too.

Between you, me, and God, my daughter's gonna wipe the floor with his kids.

We're not exactly meat heads. He's a consultant for a software company and I'm a patent lawyer.

vudukungfu:Kids should start with judo, ju jitsu, aikido, then work on the hitting other people stuff.I don't have any other problem with this.

And I agree with this whole heartedly, even though I don't think children are doing too much damage with their hits.

that was my nickname in highschool:My brother and I (32 and 34) have both independently taken up kickboxing in the last couple years (him sanshou, me muay Thai). Just this last Tuesday night we were having a great sparring session and between rounds I remarked at how much better our childhoods would have been if we had done this earlier. He said that his boys (2 and 6) are gonna learn. I told him my daughter (1) will too.

Between you, me, and God, my daughter's gonna wipe the floor with his kids.

We're not exactly meat heads. He's a consultant for a software company and I'm a patent lawyer.

vudukungfu: Kids should start with judo, ju jitsu, aikido, then work on the hitting other people stuff.I don't have any other problem with this.

And I agree with this whole heartedly, even though I don't think children are doing too much damage with their hits.

You're a smart guy. Before you let your kids in the ring, go and talk your family doctor about concussion and it's long term effects. Then get back to us.

indarwinsshadow:You're a smart guy. Before you let your kids in the ring, go and talk your family doctor about concussion and it's long term effects. Then get back to us.

Given the short rounds and lack of knockouts (most wins are submission) MMA is getter for you than boxing and football. True it's not the chess club, but it's not the blood sport most people try to make it out as.

indarwinsshadow:You're a smart guy. Before you let your kids in the ring, go and talk your family doctor about concussion and it's long term effects.

Naturally that is a conversation we will have if they want to make the transition from sparring to fighting. My instructor is a little punchy, but he had a decade+ career in a relatively large weight class.

The Stealth Hippopotamus:Given the short rounds and lack of knockouts (most wins are submission) MMA is getter for you than boxing and football. True it's not the chess club, but it's not the blood sport most people try to make it out as.

that was my nickname in highschool:indarwinsshadow: You're a smart guy. Before you let your kids in the ring, go and talk your family doctor about concussion and it's long term effects.

Naturally that is a conversation we will have if they want to make the transition from sparring to fighting. My instructor is a little punchy, but he had a decade+ career in a relatively large weight class.

The Stealth Hippopotamus: Given the short rounds and lack of knockouts (most wins are submission) MMA is getter for you than boxing and football. True it's not the chess club, but it's not the blood sport most people try to make it out as.

I can't stop you or anyone else from doing what they think is right for their family, but, really think about the long term implication of what you're doing. If you're really a lawyer, then you're smart enough to read into what I'm saying.

I can't stop you or anyone else from doing what they think is right for their family, but, really think about the long term implication of what you're doing. If you're really a lawyer, then you're smart enough to read into what I'm saying.

You're preaching to the choir, believe me. But after 10+ years as a rock climber, you'll have to forgive me if I'm not exactly persuaded by the imaginary risk curve that exists in the minds of the uninitiated. Just because an activity flirts more closely with risk in your imagination doesn't mean that it is in fact more risky.

I read the news and my daughter WILL learn some type of self defense. Self-defense + recreation = sparring. It's as simple as that. Fighting is an entirely different matter, and will involve the same conversations and hard decisions as would hockey or football (growing up I dated a girl on the varsity hockey team for her school, and another good friend played on her school's varsity football squad). But frankly I'm not too worried about that because odds are slim that she will wish to pursue that path.

indarwinsshadow:that was my nickname in highschool: indarwinsshadow: You're a smart guy. Before you let your kids in the ring, go and talk your family doctor about concussion and it's long term effects.

Naturally that is a conversation we will have if they want to make the transition from sparring to fighting. My instructor is a little punchy, but he had a decade+ career in a relatively large weight class.

The Stealth Hippopotamus: Given the short rounds and lack of knockouts (most wins are submission) MMA is getter for you than boxing and football. True it's not the chess club, but it's not the blood sport most people try to make it out as.

Yep.

Read the article about Dementia pugilistica

I can't stop you or anyone else from doing what they think is right for their family, but, really think about the long term implication of what you're doing. If you're really a lawyer, then you're smart enough to read into what I'm saying.

I can't stop you or anyone else from doing what they think is right for their family, but, really think about the long term implication of what you're doing. If you're really a lawyer, then you're smart enough to read into what I'm saying.

That was the point of my most. You are less likely to get brain trauma from MMA than most contact sports.

indarwinsshadow:that was my nickname in highschool: My brother and I (32 and 34) have both independently taken up kickboxing in the last couple years (him sanshou, me muay Thai). Just this last Tuesday night we were having a great sparring session and between rounds I remarked at how much better our childhoods would have been if we had done this earlier. He said that his boys (2 and 6) are gonna learn. I told him my daughter (1) will too.

Between you, me, and God, my daughter's gonna wipe the floor with his kids.

We're not exactly meat heads. He's a consultant for a software company and I'm a patent lawyer.

vudukungfu: Kids should start with judo, ju jitsu, aikido, then work on the hitting other people stuff.I don't have any other problem with this.

And I agree with this whole heartedly, even though I don't think children are doing too much damage with their hits.

You're a smart guy. Before you let your kids in the ring, go and talk your family doctor about concussion and it's long term effects. Then get back to us.

Hurr Derr Derp Derp any form of physical activity is bad because someone just might get hurt! MMA is a blend of physical activity that has been around for a long long time. MMA is made up of basically three schools here are some examples: Karate/Boxing (Striking), Wrestling/Judo (control grappling), Jujitsu (Submissions). Out of all of these the only "odd man out" over the last 100 years in north America is submissions. Kids running full speed head first at each other with a helmet on or kids running and jumping at each other over a hard wood floor has a much high probability than their weak little arms and mostly uncoordinated strikes doing severe damage such as a concussion or KO.

The only thing I can deduce from your comment is you are fat, weak, and have never played any kind of physical sport in your life.